COLONIAL FINANCE. THE QUARTERLY ACCOUNTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue LXVII, 30 January 1904, Page 9

COLONIAL FINANCE. THE QUARTERLY ACCOUNTS.

A return of the receipts nnd expenditure o ( the- I'oiifculid.itid Fund for the quarter ended 31st Dei-omber, 190J, and tno li^iti'cs for thu corresponding period of IUO2, anpaar in this week's Gazette. The k.laive at the bepinniug of tho rturrter was .64 1t, -113, and Tre.isury bills ouiytpnding totalled £800,000, ast against i,!.'uo,ooi) for the. coirespouduig quartvr of 1902. Tile ordinary revenue amounted to £],Bl7,tiJo, as compnied with i31,Gu9,'20G. Of this amount Customs contributed £>G 11,705, tut against £502,09 i for tho same period of 1902; stumps, £231,251, ns aguinst £208,163; postal and telegraph cuah rocoipts, £38,181, us against £84,880; land tax, £320,930, us against £5283,306; income tax, £1989, as against £2!>ii2; beer duty, £27,918, as against £25,131; railways, £510.377, os gainst £474,387. The torritoiial revenue unijiinted < to £43,089 (as nguinbt £3"3.1G7),'0f which cash land sales contnbultd £9356. aa against £7310; pastor.il runs, '•ent.s, aiul miscollanpuu.s, as ;njaim>t £it,V6O. This biought tho total lcvenuo up to £1,860,770, and, with tho balance at the Ivjfinninif of the quarter, to £2,305,223, as ;<gnitH<t fiI.GSS.-iOS for tho sanio pelioil of 1902. Tho expenditure during tho quarter Mas ;.b folloM'fl, tho fi^urfs in parentheses U.ein,{ those for the cnrieHpnnding period i-f 1902 ;, — l'enu.incnt appuipriations, .f.'9G7*,023 (£9IS,HS) ;• annvuil nppropvialionK, £BSC,SjB (£9,)1,933>. Interest and ■sinking fund meuMsed from £771, G07 to -£321,039, and old-age pensions ueereused fvom £51,632 to £-16,310,'. Umler the nnnmil appi'opriatious i| al»own tho cost of tho various <iep.n-lment^', the figures for the coire*pon<ling *pbrii>d of 19!)2 being given in parentheses, as folloM's : — Legislative, £11 ; M3 (£77SD) j Colonial Beorolary, £17,262 (£37,GM) ; Public llEatyh, £7721 i£0240) ; industries and Commerce, £7772 • (£4073) ; Colonial Treasurer, £11,7GJ (£6878); Old-age Pensions, £881 (£802) j Minister of Justice, £34,028 ("£39.244) ; PoatmasterOrr.enil, £107,797 (-0126,830) ; CommistLo.icr of Trade and Customs, £9022 (£Uiio); Marine, £16,075 (£11,025); Viiudipg and Stationery, £15,588 <£5G354)j Commissioner .of Stamps, £7GS3 (£6G7B) ; Education Depaxtment, £141,814 (£1.19,111); Lunacy und 4 Clituiteble Department, £18,624 (£18,567) ; Department of Labour, £2157 (£2200) ; Minister of Mines,' £4506 (£4-165) ; Miuister for, Agriculture, £27,567 -. (£24,191); Working RaihvuyH, £338.939 (£363,7jJ); Minister for Public Woiks, £12,395 (£11,463); Defence Department, £$1,166 (.£^7,101) ; Police Department, i£34.222 (£29,658) ; Depnvtment o( Lands nnd Survey, £38,239 (£33.066) ; Valuation Department, £7771 (£6203) ; Services not 'provided for, £4 (£1215) ; less expenditure ' charged to " unauthorised " during previous quarters, now transferled to tho respective authorisations, £19,389 (£6346;. ' ' 'fhe sum of* £225,000 was transferred to the Public Works Fund. The balance at the end of the quarter was £225,742 (as against a deficiency of £185,056 for tho corresponding period of l!J'j^),,made us, as follows: — Cash iv tho Public Account, £374,087; advances in the hands of officers of tho Government in the colonj*, £429,056 ; in London, £161.308; on account of Imperial pensions, £11; on'aricount. of other Governments, £676 ; investment account, £160,000 ; le&s Treasury bills outstanding, £900,000. i At the bcpimiinj; of the quarter thero was in the Public Woiks Fund a balance of £262,936 (as against £250,822 for the same period of 1902), including £68,756 cash in tho public account and £194,180 advances in the hands of officers of tho Government. Tho fnnd received £521,734, being £296,691 by way of loan moneys (£119,200 under tho Act of 1902, £l?'(,'}s6 under tho Act of 19,03, and interest on overdue instalments £28), £50 from spscial receipts, und £225,000 by way of transfer from the Consolidated Fund. The total receipts, including the balance, at the beginning of the quarter, were £784,671, as compared with £'694,083 for the corresponding quarter of 190 V. The expenditure . for the past quarter I shows annual appropriations £315.904 I (a« compared with £374,744 for tho Do- 1 comber quortor of 1902). Of this amount railways absorbed £193,419, roads £64,354; public buildings, £38,756; and contingent 1 defence, £4485. The fund was also debited witn £82,274, charge* and expenses of raising loans. There was thus a balance at the end of tho quarter of £386,1tfj (ns against £231,121 at tho corresponding period, of 1002), of which £179,612 wiw cash in tho Public Account, £169,801 was advances 'in the hands of ofneors of the Government, and £37,,575 was investment account. The Treasury Bills Account shows Treasury bills- outstanding at beginning of quarter £80,0,000 ; issued during quarter, £1,000,000; making a total of £1,800,000. Treasury bills amounting to £'Jl)0,000 were redeemed, leaving £900,000 outstanding. The balance in the Deposit Account at tho beginning of the quarter was £171,107, and at the end £160,689. The Stato Coal Mines Account began the quarter with 0, balance of £13,848, p.ntl received £20,000, proceeds of debentures created under, the. Act of 1901. The sum of £23,785 was spent during the. quarter, leaving a balance in hand of £10,063. At the beginning of tho quarter thero >voß' in tho Land for Settlements Account a balance of £616,032 (sw compared with £361,408 <tt tho corresponding 'jteriod of 1902), and tho receipts brought tho total up to £001,704, including £58,700, proceeds of sales of debentures. Tho sum of £17,920 was paid towards tho purchase of estates, and £527 in incidental expenses, leaving a balance at the end of tho quarter of £676,257. In the Cheviot Estate Account, the balance at tho beginning of the quarter of £24.867 wa« increased by rents to £26,001 ; the expenditure wan nil. The Advances lo Settlers Loan Account received £29,800 in respect ,of £500,000 loan 3 per cent, stock isstiod in 1902, and £290 for interest. the sum of £20,517 was debited against the account for charges and expenses of raising loan. ' At the iend of the quarter tho account had a bnlnncn of £0543, miujo up of, £150 cash in the public account and £9393 investment account. In the New Zealand Consols Account there wan a credit balance at the end of the quarter of £474,236, including £473,630 investment account. The Loans to Local Uadies Accouut received £50.000 from debentures created. Payments t« local bodies amounted to £39,360, and appropriations for roads to open up Crown lands to £6533. Tho balance at the end of the quarter was £25,982. 'Hie Auditor-General again adds the following "' tag " to tho December accounts : — "The foregoing amounts have j been, examined and found correct, sub- | jecf to the following remarks ; — (1) The Customs, railways, and territorial revenue receipts are not now examined by the Audit Office ; (2) the Audit Office is unttblo satisfactorily to verify the receipt* ">f gold revenue, througn the failure ef t.'if Mines Department to comply witk m i.-3ijti3ition for » certified state-

ment of tho amounts collectible as such revenue."